I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for performing searches for wireless communication systems.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems.
A user equipment (UE), which may be a cellular phone or some other device, may be able to communicate with wireless communication systems of different radio access technologies (RATs). For example, the UE may support Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), which are two widely deployed RATs. Upon powered up or lost of coverage, the UE may search for suitable cells from which the UE can receive communication service. The term “cell” can refer to a base station and/or the coverage area of the base station, depending on the context in which the term is used. If a suitable cell is found, then the UE may perform registration with the cell, if necessary. The UE may then “camp” on the cell if the UE is in an idle mode and not actively communicating with the cell. The cell on which the UE is camped is referred to as the serving cell.
While camped on the serving cell, the UE may periodically search for better cells in the same system or another system. If a better cell is found, then the UE may select the better cell as a new serving cell via a process commonly referred to as cell reselection. The searches performed in the idle mode may allow the UE to camp on the best possible cell even if channel conditions change, e.g., if the UE moves to a new location. This may then allow the UE to reliably receive incoming paging messages and initiate or receive calls.
The searches for better cells while in the idle mode may be beneficial in many instances. However, these searches consume battery power of the UE, which may then shorten standby time in the idle mode. There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to efficiently perform searches while in the idle mode.